You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
